Homeworld: An Admiral's Memories
by Thorgun
Summary: Admiral Khalur Soban, a near forgotten Admiral from aboard the original Mothership, finally lays down his tale of the journey from Kharak. Join him, and relive the journey, as the fate of all of the Kushan rest in the balance. Rated for M later chapter's.
1. Ch0 Prologue

A/N: Howdy folks! Any review responses will be at the END of the chapter, so that the story can get right on with it! Here will be reserved for important stuff.

Like this!

Disclaimer: I OWN HOMEWORLD!... or at least a copy of it.. I believe THQ currently holds the copyright though

* * *

><p>-66AHL, Soban settlement, Hiigara-<p>

* * *

><p>The laughter of children echoed throughout the streets of a small town on Hiigara. I watched as a small child played with his friends, outside my window, and gave a nostalgic smile- remembering playing similar games to them- albeit at a place halfway across the galaxy.<p>

A light clink brought my attention back to the man before me- he set his cup down on the table, and gave me his most eager look, picking back up his notepad. "Alright, are you ready to start, Admiral Soban?" he asked, politely as he flipped open the pad, and set his pencil to the top of the page.

I blinked for a moment, my short term memory failing me- Who was this man again? He looked a lot like my Weapons officer, from the [i]Veer'nal[/i]. "Oh that's right... Like I was saying- I had finally managed to convince the brass to let me..." I said, shaking the cobwebs out of my mind- He couldn't be my weapons officer- He's been dead for nearly 70 years.

It was a young historian that I had been speaking with for the past month- probably no more then twenty years old. He'd finally convinced me to give him the whole tale of my exploits during the great migration to Hiigara. The images of what seems to have occurred lifetimes ago slowly flashed into my view. Faint echo's of sounds long past, and the feel of objects long gone tingled my senses- and it seemed as if I was there... Back over Kharak. Back on the _Mothership_'s Scaffold...

* * *

><p>1 BHL, Tiir, Kharak<p>

* * *

><p>I sat on a bench, inside of a hall, waiting outside a particular door in a building on the outskirts of Tiir. I heard faint talking inside the room, but couldn't really make anything out- so I settled for drumming my fingers on the side of the bench, waiting to be called in.<p>

I spared a glance around at the others, in similar situations- some with eager faces, others looking bored, and one or two looking afraid. Next to me sat a man of small stature- I hadn't caught his name, but he had said something about being of Kiith Manaan, when the officer at the end of the hall asked for his papers.

Speaking of papers, I reached inside my pocket, and pulled out the little slip- still hardly believing that this was real. There, staring back at me was my own face, underneath small font reading "Rear Admiral Khalur Soban". I flipped the card over- for lack of anything else on the front, save a Soban Kiith Icon watermarked into the background, and various other information about myself.

"Rear Admiral Soban?" a woman's voice called out of the room, and I raised my head to see a lieutenant looking around the hall. "Here," I said, startling her- as I was the closest one to her. "You don't look old enough to be a..." she started, before spotting my card, half turned over in my hand. "-Of course, Admiral LiirHra will see you now." she said, quickly cutting herself off.

I thanked her, stood up and quickly smoothed my uniform down, placing my card back into my pocket, and following her into the room. I saw the silhouette of an older male admiral- With a badge for Fleet Intel shining off his chest- reflecting the sunset from the large window beside him.

"Admiral Paktu, thank you for making time to hear me out-" I started, getting straight to the point. I knew he was a busy man, and I was determined to make my case heard to him this time. Last time, the Admiral had dismissed me without giving an answer, and there was no way I was going to 'leave well enough alone' as far as the _Mothership_ went.

"Rear Admiral- I didn't accept your request to hear another lecture on the purposes of fleet defense." my jaw clicked shut as he cut me off, waving his hand in my general direction, as he continued to face the window. I looked up over him, and I'll never forget the backdrop- small hovercraft moving this way and that, as beads of light shone out from a particularly tall building, almost fully eclipsing the sun.

My attention was quickly brought back to him, as he continued his statement: "Last week, I had brought your case to the Admiralty that's going to be leaving on the _Mothership_." he said, pausing slightly while turning his chair from the window towards facing me.

"It has been decided, by the general majority, and recommended by Ms. Sjet herself, that your points are all valid, and that it would indeed be wise to bring an active military contingent with the _Mothership_." he finished, clasping his hands together, and resting his elbows on the desk. He stared at me, over his hands- and the look he gave me.. It almost felt like he was weighing my soul.

"It's also been decided that we want you on board this ship. Your previous expertise in the command role, and your actions in your former war have proven just how efficient you are- and the entire current staff agreed to your recommendation." My jaw slackened a small amount, and I blinked disbelievingly at him for a moment.

"Th.. Thank you, Sir!" I said, still a little bit surprised. He grinned at me behind his hands, and reached into his desk, fishing around one of the drawers for just a moment, before pulling out a small stack of papers. I cringed, and nearly groaned aloud. 'Great... as if the three dozen forms- In triplicate!- that I had to fill out to even get here weren't enough... More paperwork!'

"These are your registration forms for The next shuttle up, and access forms to all the parts of the ship which you'll be allowed entry." He said, before his grin widened. "I'll need them back on my desk before sunrise." And as if that wasn't bad enough- the sun just finished setting behind him- and the sky faded from a myriad of reds, oranges, yellows and pinks, to a rich, and quite dark, blue.

* * *

><p>AN: Before anyone asks- No, I won't be needing a beta- I've read far too many stories where the beta seems to simply use the auto spellchecker- and I can do that myself... I've seen several good stories almost ruined by breaks in the immersion, caused by similarly spelled words... with entirely different meanings.

Besides, I can re-read my own work, thank you very much!

Read and Review, please! I'd like at least one review, before I continue- just to make sure that there's a little bit of attention to this story. :D


	2. Ch1 Feel like I'm being watched

A/N: Constructing Chapter Two... Chapter Two, complete. Auto-launch Set.

Disclaimer: I DO own that wonderful witty play on Homeworld's Construction, and Launching features... But unfortunately, I own neither the original quote... Nor the Copyright. If I did, You can damn sure bet that there would be a Homeworld 3 on the way... And that I'd probably get distracted by a floating hunk of cheese, somewhere along the way.

* * *

><p>1 BHL, High Kharak Orbit<p>

* * *

><p>The constant, gentle hum of the shuttle's engine seemed to echo through my very bones. Three hours... three hours of this shuttle's malfunctioning Inertia compensator. Three hours of shivering teeth, and vibrating flesh. "Shuttle E2-015, you are cleared for approach to the <em>Mothership<em>." a flight controller responded to the pilot, and I mentally cheered.

The pilot softly adjusted his course to come directly towards the _Mothership_'s secondary bay. A soft fuzz, followed by a short click sounded faintly from the cockpit, before- "Roger, coming in on vector Zero-Eight-Five by Three-Two-Five, Estimated time to arival- one minute." the pilot transmitted back.

I looked around, again, at the other three whom were in the shuttle's passenger bay with me. That Manaani Lieutenant, whom I had learned was named Nihrus, and a pair of engineers who had been called up to watch over the Mothership's systems, during the hyperspace test. I didn't bother learning their names- they wouldn't be around too long, after all.

* * *

><p>Two Hours later, aboard the <em>Mothership<em>

* * *

><p>Chatter sounded back and forth across various channels- My radio across the room reported all of it, but I only caught some fragments... "All stations green" one officer said... the reply was garbled by static, and drowned out by the sound of my now running shower. As I stepped in, another officer quickly gave an affirmative "You got it." and silenced for a few seconds, before announcing "Bays: Eight- Nine- Ten- Sealed." Yet another officer then reported "Scaffold deck, secure."<p>

"All Systems green" One of the bridge officer's voices echoed out throughout the _Mothership_'s speakers, at the same time as my radio reported his message. I shook my head to get water out from my ears, and almost missed someone muttering "What a beautiful sight" over an open channel.

"This is Fleet Command. Reporting _Mothership_ pre-launch status." I Startled then, and quickly threw open my shower curtain- Her voice sounded as if she was in the room with me- clear of any static before, during or after... Even the other messages through the ships comm's were more garbled! I took a quick look around the room, just to make sure- and spotted a small camera above the door... the light on it was off, so it was deactivated at the moment, but I quickly closed the shower curtain none the less.

As I did so, the ship seemed to shiver and shake, as a high pitched drone- no, a whine sounded off, winding up in pitch slowly. The room rumbled, and my uniform hung ready for me seemed to vibrate on the rack. 'Must be the main engine...' I thought to myself. "Command online" Her voice sounded again- and I had to stop myself from checking the room once more. "Resourcing online" My head peeked out by the shower curtain, and I glared at the camera- Still inactive. Good. "Construction online..." I closed the curtain, once more.

"Cryogenic subsections A through J online..." Speaking of cryogenics- the water started growing cold. I quickly finished, and as I stepped out, she continued "K through S online." her voice seemed to come from all around, yet right next to me as well. I shut my radio off, quickly. I checked the camera once more and could have sworn that I saw the light blink on, then off, through the corner of my eye. I moved the shower curtain shut, and stood behind a cabinet, dressing there, hoping that it would block at least some of the camera's view of myself.

"Scaffold control, stand-by for alignment." the shaking started again... "The engine must still be incomplete... that must be it." I muttered quietly to myself. Though I stuck to the floor like glue, I swore I could feel the ship turning counter-clockwise slowly, before coming to a rather abrupt halt. "Alignment confirmed. Stand by Release Control" the shaking stopped, and a quiet, garbled "Roger" was heard back over the Comm's. 'How does she do that.' I thought to myself, noticing the large difference in quality between the two voices. 'The ships are connected- there shouldn't be _that_ much of a difference in sound quality.'

The ship vibrated lightly, and I could feel it in my teeth- it reminded me strongly of the shuttle which I had gotten off of not two hours earlier. "The _Mothership_ has cleared the Scaffold." the shuddering stopped once more. 'And thank Sajuuk for that.' I thought quickly, finishing buttoning up my uniform. "We are away." She finished. I heard a couple of small dull thunks that echoed through the entire hull. But they reminded me quite distinctly of the sound the docking clamps had made on the hull of the small corvette sized transport which had carried me to the _Mothership_. Eight times in a row, I heard it.. "It must be that initial fleet group, I suppose." I muttered quietly.

"Standby for Command line testing..." Her voice came through the ship's communications system perfectly clear.. I still don't know how she did it- even other transmissions from closer inside the ship have a small bit of static... But it was like she was speaking right into your ear. Almost as if she was right by you, watching what you were doing. I shivered at the thought- She does technically have full control over the entire ship... Including...

I checked to make sure the security camera wasn't pointed my way again- 'Fleet Command' or not, the idea of someone watching everyone and everything was a creepy thought. At that moment, I couldn't wait for them to finish their design of the still unnamed Assault Frigate class in development. Maybe then, the constant feeling of being watched would dissapate. I smirked. I'd already been asigned to be the commanding officer aboard the first one of them. Fleet Command wouldn't be watching everything then, right? "Admiral," speaking of whom...

"Go ahead, Command." I quickly replied over my radio. I looked towards the corner, and sure enough, the camera swiveled to face me, and the feeling of being watched returned tenfold. "Please report to the bridge, to provide oversight of the combat trials. They're scheduled to begin in three minutes." She replied over my radio, before generating a small clicking noise, to signal comm's clear. "Understood, I'll be there immediately." I then clicked my radio off, and headed for the nearest Elevator- It figures that they'd shove my quarters to the bottom of the ship, when I'm expected at the top!

-_Mothership_'s Bridge-

I swiped my keycard through the door-side slot, and entered my sixteen digit code in the pad beside it. A soft tone sounded, and the door opened with a small hiss of it's pneumatic actuators.

"Admiral, over here" I was waved over to a small station set right next to a set of large, Open blast doors. Though the lights were off in the room, it seemed to have a small blue glow, eminating from the center, where Karan S'jet was hooked into the ship.

"Sir, the fighters are in position outside of the _Mothership_, and are awaiting orders. Command's decided that 'Group 1' will be assigned to you, and will be under your direct command up to, and after you have your Frigate constructed." the Ensign whom called me over stated.

I looked over towards Ms. S'jet again, and saw her looking straight back at me, her eyes now open. I Raised an eyebrow, and she looked away, almost looking to be laughing. I blinked, and shook my head slightly. I could almost swear that she winked at me when she looked back.

I looked over towards the Ensign, and looked for her uniform's nametag. 'Hmm, Ahlera LiirHra... Why does that name seem familiar.' I thought to myself. "Sir, did you hear me?" she asked, and looked up at me impatiently. She tilted her head to the side, and looked like she was about to repeat herself, before I quickly cut her off.

"I heard you, get me an open channel to the flight leader," I quickly ordered. "Yes sir. And may I speak freely?" She responded, pressing a few buttons on the console ahead of her, causing a small reading of 'Channel Frequency set to 5.' to appear on the small display readout. "Granted," I picked up the small radio headset, but paused before putting it on, to allow her time to speak. "I'm looking forward to serving under your command- I was one of the ones on that small convoy in the southern hemisphear, two years ago." She said, and gave me a small grin.

Almost immediately, an image of a slightly younger version of the Ensign popped into my head.. her face slightly dusty, yet giving a dull shine due to sweat, and the same little grin peaking up at me from the wreckage of one of the, then newly trackless, convoy vehicles. I saw the small group of damaged convoy vehicles.. Heard the idling engine from my Fighter, which I had been standing on the wing of... I could almost smell the smoke from my wingman's wreck nearby, and see his grinning face as he bleed out on the ground nearby... He didn't make it.

"Awaiting orders." I startled, and cleared my head, focusing on the Arrow Squadron's leader, whom had just reported in.

* * *

><p>AN: No reviews to respond to- so I guess that wraps this up for now. Cya next time, folks! Read and Review, please!


	3. Ch2 A Bad Test

A/N: Chapter three, Reporting... Roger, Claw formation Set... Aggressive tactics set. Chapter three lost!

Disclaimer: Tee hee, i just love the puns. But no, I don't own Homeworld... YET! I have this wonderful plan involving a bucket of lard, Two lawyers, and a misused shovel. Don't ask what the lard or the lawyers are for.

The shovel is for uhm... Cleanup.

* * *

><p>-1 BHL, Mothership's Bridge, High Kharak Orbit-<p>

* * *

><p>"Commodore Liirud Jaraci, Reporting in and my wing is awaiting orders, Sir!" came through my headset, slightly muffled by static, but generally loud and clear."Alright. Your current objective is the destruction of the nine Target drones, sitting approximately twenty clicks ahead of you." I started, and paused a moment, to look at the central sensors display hologram, in the middle of the bridge.<p>

"Understood- Moving to en-" he started, and I quickly cut him off, "Negative- do not take a straight path towards the drones- You have seven craft, split off one group of four towards the left, and the other group of three towards the right- Best to start building good habits BEFORE you're under fire." A memory of bad intell, and an even worse insert flashed through my mind- five out of eight craft went down, because we were all too green to remember to stay anywhere but ahead of their fighters...

"Roger, A pair of delta formations, pincer attack." he reported over the comms, and I watched as the green dots split up, and annihilated the target drones. "Formation trial complete. Flight analysis shows a twenty-two percent increase in combat performance." the head Fleet Intelligence officer said, from a station rather near mine- It was odd hearing his voice twice- due to the very slight lag in the communications system.

"The next trial will test the effectiveness of tactics. Use aggressive or evasive tactics, and engage the Target Drones here." he said, pressing a few buttons at his station, causing a yellow Orb to pulse outwards, around a second group of target drones- 16 in all, this time.

"Alright, Set power settings for full weapon enhancement, And I want you to regroup, and hammer them along the outside, Spiral inwards, From one direction, coming in off their 3:00." I ordered, and quickly received a "Roger, Aggressive tactics engaged." I watched as they hooked around, and mopped up the drones, quite efficently, but a little slowly. "Tactics trial complete." The fleet intelligence officer reported.

"The next trial will test the..." he started, before I tuned him out, and spoke with my squadron. "Good job, Return for refuel, and rearm, but do not launch on completion. Stay docked for the hyperspace trial." I ordered over the comms channel. "Roger, Docking with mothership commencing. Wing two, you're up first." Cdr. Jaraci walked his squadron through the docking.

"Commodore- Have your squad assemble in Deck 18b, Hallway 34- I wish to speak with your lot on your oppinions of the Arrow." A science officer's voice cut in, just before the docking was completed. "Understood, sir." I then heard the destinctive click of a comm being shut off, while still active. I allowed myself a little smirk. I quickly checked the comm channel, to make sure the Science officer was still on it, before I clicked it thrice- to signal to him to keep his comms open.

"Science officer..." I started "Ular S'Jet, sir" he responded over the Comm. "Right. Officer S'Jet. I've noticed that these "Arrow" interceptors only have two guns... Why is this? Even my old Dagger class light interceptor had four..." I queried, over the comm. "My first impression from watching the arrow was that it might be too weakly armed, and armored, for it's pure speed to compensate for. It seems more likely that if we find another space capable race, it'll be relagated to scouting duties, and maybe supply unit harrassment at best. Complete disuse, and a waste of materials at worst!"

"Sir, With all due respect, you used a projectile weapon inside an atmosphere- That lended to inaccuracy, and reduced power at range. These Rail Mass Drivers are much stronger then your old average Machine guns. Our simulated laboratory tests showed us that there was no feasable armor that we could give that would sufficiently protect against mass-driver shots. The odds of us finding even ONE race that's capable of being protected from it are less then one in a million!" he said, with a slight hint of personal affront, and arrogance.

"I take it you were the lead designer of the Arrow, then?" I asked him, and he quickly responded. "Yes I was, and I would have to say that I'm very proud of the end result. It certainly performs better then the leading competing design- That 'Blade'. My Arrow's design NEVER killed one of it's pilots. But that Blade? HAH! They're nothing but flying Bombs, the whole lot of them." I could almost hear his grin over the comm.

"Alright, I'll hold you to that then." I said, and clicked my comm off. "Rear Admiral!" an officer called at me from across the bridge. "Yes... Lieutenant?" I quickly checked his shoulder-pip's for his rank. "Sir, I've been told to inform you that, since the design of the Vengance class is taking longer then expected, and your expertise may be needed at any given time, Fleet Command is putting you in temporary command of a wing of Light Corvettes." the Lieutenant quickly spoke, before saluting, "I'm to be your weapons officer, and the Ensign over there is to be communications." he said, before heading towards the bridge exit.

* * *

><p>-Mothership's fighter bay, High Kharak Orbit-<p>

* * *

><p>The droning hum, and ocasional echos of work going on deeper in the bay seemed to permiate all other sounds- a voice would be rendered unrecognizable over the din of general noise in the background. Myself, the Lieutenant and the Ensign followed a winding series of catwalks, and corridors to where our Corvette was berthed.<p>

"Here she is, Sir. The first of her kind." the Lieutenant gestured towards the craft, and I snorted to myself quietly, wondering if the small, slender craft was a serious attempt at a defensive capability. Ensign LiirHra's voice seemed to mirror my thoughts exactly, "It looks like a Deathtrap- Do we really have to g- uhm, I mean... After you, Sir."

We all climbed into the thin craft, and the first apparent feature of the corvette was it's incredibly cramped conditions. "Are you sure this isn't a Two man craft, sir?" Quipped Ahlera, as she ran through her systems check. A quiet double beep alerted us all to a minor fault with the communications array- some frequencies might come through garbled. "It looks like they didn't even finish this thing, before they crammed us in here. " the Ensign grumbled to herself, as she quickly pulled up a diagnostics menu. "This communications fault isn't all... Insufficient ammunition... Life support operating at minimal capacity... I don't like this thing at all..." she stated, a bit more shakily.

"Sir, the targeting system is incomplete- we'll be unable to account for ballistic trajectories around larger gravitational bodies- more simply put sir, we can't point at an angle near a planet or a star." the lieutenant started, "Plus, we have further troubles- Like the Ensign said, low ammunition, a minor feed fault appeared a moment ago, but I was able to recycle the weapon system, but it seems that the power draw for our top-side rail mass driver is-" he continued, holding up a hand, and ticking off fingers as he went.

"Don't worry, Crew- We're just going to put her through her paces for now. We probably won't see any action at all- We'll just test what DOES work, and get the mechanics to sort out the rest." I interrupted- more to reassure myself, then my new crew. I quickly waved over the engineering crew, to seal us into the small craft.

-1 BHL, High Kharak Orbit-

"You are cleared for launch, LCS-1. We'll be engaging the hyperdrive system in a minute, though, so get clear before engaging in trials," a Communications officer replied over the comm, and Ahlera clicked the comm twice to signal acknowledgement. "Sir, it's all yours." she quickly stated.

"Understood," I returned, and began start off procedure. "Maneuvering thrusters online... and operational..." the craft rolled slightly in response to my slight pulling on the controls "Ships gravity field... Engaged" I felt my stomach leap with the sudden feeling of first weightlessness, then very quickly, a return to gravity "Main power is at 100%..." I checked all my readout gauges, and placed my hand on the main engine switch "Main engine is..." I flipped the switch, and took a shallow breath "... Online..." I quickly let out the breath, and slowly eased up the throttle.

The corvette quickly lurched forwards- but I kept her under a tight hand, and within seconds, I was clear of the Hangar bay. "Report that we're clear." I quickly ordered Ahlera. "Yes sir- LCS-1 to Mothership- We are clear." she replied, and was shortly echoed by another pair of corvettes reporting in. "LCS-2, Clear," a high female voice first said- followed by "LCS-3, we are Away," a slightly deep female voice, "LCS-4, is out, sir." a baritone male voice, then finally "LCS-5 All Clear!" a chipper female.

"Alright- all units form up on lead and put on full throttle- we've got to get clear of the-" A sudden massive burst of static cut off our comms, and- I thought it then only a trick of my eyes, but I saw hundreds of hyperspace windows opening just as we were pulled in by the mothership's hyperspace field. As I would later find out, it was the Tiidan war fleet which would annihilate our homeworld which I had seen.

"Damnit. Report!" I ordered, and after a prolonged burst of static, Ahlera found out that all five Corvettes were pulled into the hyperspace field- But LCS-5's engines, main power, and even life-support had been left behind."Sir, with that kind of damage..." Ahlera started quietly. Lieutenant Nihrus just shook his head slightly. "I know," I responded. "They won't even survive the trip."

* * *

><p>AN: Yey! I got a review (and brown nosing- Err, A compliment) From Ana!  
>I aim to please. Myself. Which is very hard sometimes.<p>

Go figure.

Remember to read [i]and Review- Or I'll send a _Firelance_ after you!

(Tee-Hee... End rhyme.)

(sec)A/N: I am SOOO sorry for the delay- I had no internet for months, 'cause my 80$ A month package, which was guaranteed for 24 months at that price, went up to about 400 dollars, on the third month. /facepalm.  
>On the GOOD news, I've got a few chapters stored up, and I'll be shoveling them out, once a week, until I run out. :V<p> 


	4. Ch3 From bad to Worse

A/N: No notes yet- Too long without input. Gee, I should fix that.

-Five Hours Later, Outer Kharak System-

Hours later, the ship lurched suddenly, and the infinite depths of hyperspace vanished before our eyes. Our exit was just as violent as our entry, our ship was propelled away from the Mothership in a fierce flat spin. I had just righted the ship, when I noticed a grey blur careening towards LCS-4. "Lieutenant- Break left!" Ahlera shouted over the Comms, almost before I gave her the order to.

"Sir, we've lost control of our maneuvering thrusters- Oh no, it's going to... SHI-" LCS-4's Comms Officer's final scream was covered by a burst of static, as the wrecked hulk of LCS-5 collided with LCS-4's cockpit, rolling off of the other Corvette and almost appearing to cause little damage.

Then the vacuum of space almost instantaneously sucked out the bodies of the three crew members, and lacerated them with the shards of the protective canopy. All that remained of LCS-4's crew was a fine red mist, and the arm of an Ensign- never identified by name.

"Damnit... Get Two, and Three's Status Ensign." I said, and she slowly complied "Right, sir... LCS-2, LCS-3... Status Report?" LCS-2 responded quickly "All systems operational- but we've got a slight power supply error with our upper-" she quickly cut LCS-2 off "We've got that too, Seems like a design flaw." She clicked her end shut for a moment, but received no response from LCS-3. "LCS-3, Respond."

A small flash of light caught my attention from LCS-3's cockpit- it happened a second time, and I realized it was quite the opposite- their lights flicking off caught my attention. "Ensign, know Morse code?" I quickly cut off her continued attempts to raise LCS-3 on the comms. "No sir, wh- Oh..." She said, and spotted the same thing I had. "They're saying 'A. O.K.', Ensign" the Lieutenant supplied.

"We read you, LCS-3," she quickly returned over the radio, and their light flickering immediately ceased. "LCS 1, come in." Fleet command's voice came through- still perfectly clearly. "Damn," I mumbled to myself, or rather, tried to- Nihrus gave me an odd look in response. "Reporting." Ahlera responded over the Comms. "Report group status." S'jet's voice said almost without emotion.

"We've lost two Corvettes, and LCS-3 has a Transmitting problem- Both LCS-2 and LCS-1 Craft are reporting Power faults in our weapon batteries." She reported shortly, and looked like she wanted to continue, but I held up a hand. "We are still go for tests, if that's what you're asking, Command." I stated loud enough to be heard over the Comms. "Understood, Fleet Command out."

"Still good for tests, sir? We've lost 40% of our operational strength- And six of ours just died, and we're still good for-" Ahlera started, in an almost panicked voice, I quickly cut her off "Only tests, Ensign- then we re-dock. Nothing more." I stated as evenly as I could muster. "Yes sir." She replied after a moment, quietly. "Two, Three, form up on One, we are go for tests." she called over the Comms.

"Two, Acknowledged." Two's Comms replied in an even tone. "Three, Confirmed." Three's voice cracked halfway through. I quickly pushed the throttle to 90%, and started taking the craft through a series of harsh maneuvers. The other two craft stayed with my heavy-handed maneuvering, but only just- any sort of formation was found impossible to keep with such heavy maneuvering. We ran simple target practice on a bit of dust- or rather, large chunks of rock that were too small, or to useless to be picked up by our resourcers. The power fault persisted in our weapon-systems, no malfunctions or jams occured with our weapons, although we did run out of ammo very quickly.

"Alright, Ensign, have them dock." I ordered, and aligned us on a return course for the mothership. "LCS-2, LCS-3, Disengage, and Return to dock," she stated over the comms, "Roger, Docking with mothership." two responded, "Docking Underway." three confirmed.

-half an hour later, Mothership Bridge, Outer Kharak System-

"Probe Away" I heard Fleet Command state, and I turned my view towards a large screen mounted towards the rear of the bridge. The screen was set up to relay the visual feed from the probe, and although a little interference came through, the view was one of the utmost clarity. Asteroids seeming to either stand still- or closely miss the nimble probe, blocked our view of the Khar-Selim, but as we came up to a large asteroid, and the probe swung wide- the very front of the support vessel came into view.

"There she is! I never thought I'd be so glad to see such a piece of shi... uh.. Are you all seeing this?" ScOff. 3rd class Arisa Paktu said- first elatedly, then almost in a tone of disbelief. "We're all seeing it, Techie." I replied calmly. Inside I was both surprised and furious. The front end of the Khar Selim remained almost intact- but just behind it's fat snub-nose, only the spine of the ship remained. The aft sections of the bridge still looked aflame then- a sign ignored by all that the damage was fresh, and the attackers could still be near.

"Are there any survivors?" the voice of fleet Intelligence cut across the bridge, shocking more then one crewman out of their stupor. An almost furious pace of activity took hold of the bridge- though it died down just as quickly as it started. I stared at the image on the screen as if what I was seeing couldn't possibly be correct- but I answered almost automatically. "With damage of that type... No Defenses... No Fail-safes.. Sir, there won't be a single survivor out there."

"Alert! I have unidentified contacts on a closing vector- They're coming from a bearing of 090, 045 off of the Khar Selim- No Recognition codes, assume hostile!" a sensors operator's voice broke through the somber silence like a molten machete through half melted butter- and once more the bridge was in a frantic pace of action.

I quickly ran to the communications officer, and made sure that I had a clear view of the Sensors hologram in the middle of the room. "Scramble Group One, Get me a commlink with Commander Jaraci as soon as he launches!" I ordered, and counted the enemy ships mentally. 'three corvettes, and eight fighters... Hmm, that's an odd assortment.'

The comms officer shook my arm quickly, and snapped me out of my thoughts. "Sir, Jaraci is awaiting orders, all 16 Arrows have been scrambled, and are assembled in front of the mothership." the comms officer gestured to the headset, and vacated his seat. "We're counting on all of you." he said.

"Right, Commander Jaraci! Break into standard four man groups- Delta formation, Fighting pairs, One targets, One clears. Take out their interceptors first- and for gods sake, stay alive out there!" I ordered over the comms, and received a short "Roger, Delta formation, Evasive tactics." in return.

From there, the comms deteriorated into a scrambled mess of messages- "Delta lead- Nice shot!" - Ensign Abriel Manaan, 'Delta Two' cheered;  
>"Alpha One! Check your six!" - Ensign Ghurlak Tambuur, 'Alpha Four' cried over the comms;<br>"This is Alpha Two- I'm on him!" - Ensign Dolaar S'jet, 'Alpha Two' quickly responded;  
>"This is Alpha Three, I'm all over one, but he won't go down!" Lieutenant Commander Deera Paktu, 'Alpha Three' called;<br>"Beta two, Behind you!" - Ensign Hural Manaan, 'Beta Four' warned;  
>"Beta two here- I cant shake him!" - Ensign Jurgas LiirHra, 'Beta Two' called, panicked;<br>"Beta two- Hold on, I'm coming!" - Lieutenant Commander Ellia S'jet, 'Beta One' replied hurriedly;  
>"I got him! Finally." - Alpha Three reported shortly;<br>"Alpha One- Taking fire, where's my wing?" Commander Liirud Jaraci, 'Alpha One' called;  
>"Another one gone- Took light fire though." Alpha Three called quickly;<br>"Damnit, Taking HEAVY fire, Someone Clear my ass!" Alpha One barked over the comm;  
>"Got him! You're clear Beta two!" Beta One claimed one down- I quickly counted, 'that makes four...';<br>"Scratch One!" Lieutenant Junior Grade Leera Paktu, 'Beta Three' cheered. 'Five...';  
>"Yeah, well your sister's winning!" Beta Four called back;<br>"Yeah, shut it, sandbait" Beta Three snapped back;  
>"Quiet you two" ordered Beta One;<br>"I can't shake him- I can't sha-" the flash was visible from where I was standing, Alpha One went up in a ball of fire;  
>"Damnit- One is down!" Alpha Two called in; I silently bowed my head, Commander Jaraci was a good pilot;<br>"I'm on point!" Lieutenant Commander Siara Manaan, 'Delta One' called;  
>"I got the bastard!" Alpha Three reported, 'Six down.' I tallied;<br>"A bit late..." Alpha Four grumbled; "Their damn armor is too thick- I got him as quick as I-" Alpha Three started back;  
>"Can it- Take out the rest of these guys!" Delta One interrupted with a fierce tone;<br>"SHIT, I got one on me!" Alpha Four reported;  
>"I'm on him, Alpha Four" Beta three called;<br>"I can't take this fire!" Alpha Four cried out;  
>"Just a little longer, Pull him straight!" Beta three responded;<br>"Fuck- Reactor breech, Bye gu-" Alpha Four called out;  
>"Damn, too late!" Beta Three called.;<br>"Don't lose him, Three!" Beta Four reminded;  
>"Got him! Number Two." Beta Three called 'Seven... One fighter left.';<br>"Great shot!" Beta Four cheered;  
>"Beta Two- Help me out here.. Shit... REACTOR BRE-!" Beta One yelled;<br>"One is down! One is down! That Fighter's coming around for you, four!" Beta Two reported;  
>"I'm hit I'm hit! Da-" Beta Four shouted over the comms- Cut off by a burst of static;<br>"Wingman down! Where did that damn Fighter get to?" Beta three growled "Beta three! Behind you!" Delta Two called; "Shit- Taking fire!" Beta Three cried;  
>"I'm on him, Hold on." Alpha Three called;<br>"No wait- I got hi-" Beta Three started, only to be interrupted by a crackle of static;  
>"Last Fighter's gone- You're welcome, little Sis!" Alpha Three reported shortly;<br>"Damn, I wanted that one!" Beta Three moaned;  
>"Get to the corvettes- Our research ship is taking heavy fire from them!" Delta Lead interrupted the cheering;<br>"Roger! Gamma wing; engage!" Lieutenant Commander Taora S'jet, 'Gamma One' reported;  
>"Gamma two- My mass drivers are ineffective!" Ensign Abriel Manaan, 'Gamma Two' called quickly;<br>"Gamma three, No dice, their armor's too thick." Lieutenant Zhadara LiirHra, 'Gamma Three' confirmed;  
>"Concentrate All fire on the cockpit section of that Missile Corvette first" Gamma One ordered;<br>"Roger!" Ensign Draela Manaan, 'Gamma Four' responded;  
>"Two here- their armor's cracking, one more pass!" Gamma Two followed;<br>"Four here, I'm hit, I'm hit!" Gamma Four reported;  
>"Four- return to base, I'll cover your retreat!" Gamma Three called calmly;<br>"Crap- Main engine's gone critical- I ain't gonna-" Gamma Four cried out, before her ship exploded.  
>"Shit; Four's down!" Gamma Three called over the comm;<br>"Scratch the Missile Corvette!" Gamma One reported- followed immediately by static, and a bright flash;  
>"Alpha wing in Engagement range- We'll take the left Gun Corvette, Gamma, Take the right!" Alpha Three ordered quickly;<br>"Deltas, You heard her, hit that corvette!" Gamma One confirmed "Alpha Three here; That's got him, those engin-Cshhhrrk-re Weak!" Alpha Three called in, Partially covered by static;  
>"Got it, hits on their engine!" Gamma Two called, and swung her craft along behind the last corvette.<br>"Careful two, I'm coming in from the other side!" Gamma Three warned;  
>"Copy, Got hits, and pulling off... There she goes!" Gamma Two reported;<br>"We're all clear, Awaiting orders, Command." Delta One called in.

"Roger, Return to the mothership for repair, refuel, and rearm; but stay on standby, Command Out." I replied shortly, before clicking off the comm, and waving the communications officer back over to his station. I started off the bridge, but paused a second by the door. I turned my head around at the bridge, and made an angry remark "Not five hours ago, you all would have sworn by our new Rail Mass Drivers, as if they were unbeatable... And that arrow lived up to my expectations. Or rather- Died up to them. How many did we just lose out there?" I started to walk off, but the door shut in my face.

"Admiral, if you think that we deliberately-" Karan S'jet started first, before almost at once seven or eight people followed. I managed to hear the cry of "It's not our fault!" from Ular S'jet. At once, almost all the rest of the talking in the room stopped, and even one of the other Scientists on the design project of the arrow gave him a dirty look. He paid no mind, and continued spouting further defenses of himself and his pet project. "How could we possibly know that they'd be able to resist Rail Mass Drivers- The chances of-"

I saw red at that moment. I turned around, and backed the into a corner "How could you know... or even GUESS that..." I said in a low, mocking tone, and picked him up off the ground by the front of his uniform. "Maybe if you had payed attention in history. Every 'unbeatable' weapon is defeated. Always." I pinned him against the wall, and glared at his face. "But you paid no heed. Five good pilots just died because of YOUR incompetence!" I growled at him.

"ADMIRAL." Fleet Intelligence yelled. "CONTROL yourself." He shook my arm. I looked up at the Science Officer's terrified face, snarled, and dropped him, before turning on my heel and marching to the door. "Open this damn door, Get me a new fighter, and finish those frigate plans. Next time, I want to do more then sit by a damned console, and listen to our pilots die." I ordered, in a low tone.

The door opened quickly, and the room remained silent as I left. The officers on guard in the corridor towards the elevator gave me a wide berth, and the elevator stopped twice- Only to close in the face of frightened crew members, as I returned to my quarters. Only after I entered my room did I notice that, at some point, my radio had been knocked on, and that every word I had said was transmitted to the entire fleet.

A/N: No Reviews for Ch3, No responses. :V That's all folks!


	5. Ch4 Package Retrieval In space!

A/N: Had this sitting on my Hard-drive for quite a while. Figured I might as well upload this, while writers block strikes, HARD at the 6th chapter's writing process...

* * *

><p>1BHL, Mother-ship, Outer Kharak System<p>

* * *

><p>"Admiral, report to the bridge." The voice of fleet command came through my radio once more. I grumbled to myself, and threw off my covers, grabbing my radio off of my desk. "Understood. Be there in five minutes." I replied, picking up my security key-card from next to where my radio was, and moved the growing stack of unfinished paperwork aside. After a few seconds of shuffling through after action report papers, ship manuals, design papers, and other assorted papers, I pulled out three different files.<p>

The first of these three files was the folder in which I had placed all papers related to the disastrous Light Corvette project. I had scrawled on the folder 'unworkable in current form.' and placed several sheets of recommended changes within. The second was a rather thick folder listing all personnel currently on board the ship, whom were qualified at a basic level for the Arrow class light fighter. On it's cover was a small note reminding me to drum up replacements for group one's lost pilots.

The third was a rather plain folder at first glance- Aside from the large red stamps of {FAILED PROJECT} and [CLASSIFIED MATERIAL] on top. A corner of a sheet of paper peeked out of the top of the folder, and clearly visible on that was the words "Blade class interceptor design specifications." Quickly leaving my quarters, I hastily leafed through the information with the Blade's folder,made my way down the hallway towards the elevator for the bridge.

"Sir!" Ensign Ahlera waved me over, pressing the hold key in the elevator. For a moment, before pressing the key for the bridge, she stared at me, and the folders under my arm. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but she must have decided against it, she looked away quickly, and fidgeted with her uniform's sleeves."Sir, the techies asked me to remind you about your report on the light-" she started- but I raised a hand to cut her off, before pointing at the Light Corvette folder held under my arm.

"Already taken care of Ensign." I said quietly. The image of LCS-5 and LCS-4 colliding flashed quickly through my mind, and for a moment, I would have sworn I could still hear LCS-4's comm's officer's voice. "Speaking of which, what did they do with the three corvettes that made it back? Why weren't they scrambled for defense earlier?" I asked quickly- more to change my thoughts, then for the answer.

She stayed quiet for a moment, and glanced away, before speaking quietly, but quickly, "They were supposed to be, but... after that incident with 4, and 5... Sir, that happened right in front of the ship... every last crew-member saw that. No one would get in them." she fidgeted with her uniform again, "I was actually supposed to take LCS-3 as my first command- but.." she looked down, and bit her lip.

"It's alright, Ensign, I understand completely. Personally, I think the things are deathtraps, but the concept is good... It just needs to be reworked a bit." I said and lifted the Light Corvette file. "I've got about ten different recommendations on how to fix the problems with it, and only two involve a sledgehammer." I looked at her with a completely straight face for a moment, before a small grin creeped onto my face, "Maybe three." She chuckled.

* * *

><p>5 Minutes later, Bridge<p>

* * *

><p>The bridge door opened in front of us, and not three steps into the room, I was immediately grabbed by a Techie. "Admiral, have you finished that report on the Light Corvette yet? I really would like to get your feedback, maybe we can-" he rambled, stopping only when I shoved the File into his arms. A look of what could only be described as pure glee crossed his face, before he quickly turned and almost skipped away.<p>

Before the odd behavior of the scientist had fully registered in my mind, I was once again accosted by a reaching hand. This time, it was Lieutenant Commander Siara Manaan, 'Delta One'. "Sir," she said, snapping off a quick salute, "We still need replacements for the five lost pilots- and, regarding what you said a few hours ago, Sir, the Techies still want to speak with you on where you intend for them to pull a new fighter from."

I looked at her for a moment with a slight frown, before slowly responding,"As to the pilots, I'm afraid I can't replace them all right now- Crew constraints are too tight. The best I can do is sortie out myself with you-But that still leaves us down an entire flight." I lifted the folder for the Blade slightly into her view, and was immediately rewarded with a shocked look. "As for the other fighter... While reading this over, I saw a few things that looked out of place to me... I'll make my recommendations to them, and we'll see what that gets us." I grinned at the look on her face.

She hesitated a moment, before speaking "Sir, the Blade was a failed project... It couldn't meet all of it's specifications without becoming a Flying bomb... Sir, are you sure you've thought this through?" she asked, pausing a moment before continuing. "It couldn't meet all of it's design specifications, and in trying to do so, it-" I quickly held up a hand to interrupt her here.

"That's exactly it. Reduce the required specifications in unnecessary regions." I stated, and quickly pulled out the main overview page for the Blade. Scrawled next to the name was an identifier of "Mark 2". Several features were crossed out and revised, including the removal of underbelly bomb racks, a reduction in top speed, and range, as well as a slight increase in armor amount around the reactor.

She blinked for a moment, before chuckling to herself. "God, I bet the techies are going to slap themselves." she said, before turning around to walk off. She only went a few steps, before pausing and looking at me incredulously "Wait a minute... Did you say you'll be sortieing out with us?!" she asked in a slightly baffled tone. "Can you even do that?"

I pointed to my shoulder and grinned. "The privileges of being the highest ranked military official on board are many, Commander." I said, and was once again rewarded with a confused look. "Sir?" she asked, and looked at me for a moment, before noticing a small, open box in my hand with a pair of Insignia for the rank of Commander, as well as a small metal medal in the shape of an Arrow Interceptor.

"For recognition of quick thinking, valor, and your service in the line of duty, I hereby award you the first authorized Interceptor's Badge, and promote you to the rank of Commander, in the Kushan Navy. Congratulations, Commander." I said, and grinned. "Sir!" she saluted, and stood at attention as I replaced her old Insignia, and pinned the medal on her chest. She saluted once more, and then walked away, back towards the other remaining squadron leaders.

Turning towards the techies waiting at the other end of the bridge, I was once more grabbed by the corvette's techie. "Sir, I just looked over your recommendations on these papers, and... Sir, what you described in here is two different corvettes... Ignoring the 'Multi-gun Corvette'... Which is practically infeasible." He looked up for a moment, and paused. "But wait... if we... hmm.." he turned away, and walked back towards the techies, mumbling to himself, and writing on a sheet of paper.

I blinked, and held still for a moment, before clearing my throat, and speaking to the bridge at large. "Would the next person who wishes to speak with me PLEASE refrain from pulling on my arm? Thank you." I shook my head and muttered under my breath, before hearing someone clear their throat. "Admiral. We need to speak with you for a moment about your conduct here, a few hours ago." Fleet Intelligence stated, and looked at me with a frown.

I refrained from groaning aloud, I had quite a clear idea of the possible penalties of my outburst. Instead, I replied with "Of course," although, I did say it a little reluctantly. He turned towards Karan S'jet motioned me to follow, and walked to stand next to her. She looked at me with an impassive look on her face as I approached. I stood at attention for a moment, before she waved her hand shortly.

"Admiral, please. I am not one of your Navy personnel. Fore-go the formalities." she said, and looked me in the eye. "You however, are." she stated flatly. "And I'll expect there to be absolutely no more of your earlier conduct." she looked away, and closed her eyes, going back to the manipulation of various ship's systems.

"While I cannot officially reprimand you, seeing as you are my superior officer, Let me remind you, Admiral," he started, pausing a moment to frown, "You are technically in overall command of the military portion of this ship, for the duration of the tests, and her imminent expedition. It would not do to have you setting a poor example for the conduct of all the rest of the navy personnel on board." he said quietly. "I will not recommend your replacement, as I understand your outburst completely, but don't let it happen again, sir."

I sighed quietly in relief, even though he was my subordinate, he had still managed to make me feel as if I was about to be chewed out by a drill officer back in boot camp. "Understood." I said quietly, and turned to leave, "Admiral." Karan interrupted. I turned back around slowly, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, Ms. S'jet?" I asked, anticipating more words on the outburst.

She hesitated a moment before continuing slowly. "While I understand the necessity of your sortieing out with the other pilots, until we return to Kharak to replace our losses, do be careful..." she stated with a small hint of worry, before quickly covering it with a further statement "It would be poor form to lose a high ranking officer on a systems test." she continued staring at me for a moment, before quickly turning away and closed her eyes to return to systems management.

I turned to leave, before once more being interrupted "Wait a minute... did she just say you're sortieing out with the... You can't be serious, Admiral!" He started indignantly, pausing when I held up a hand. "Captain, I understand your sentiments exactly. But whom would you rather I send?" I asked, holding up the file folder. "Our chief engineer? Perhaps some of the repair crew. No, better still, I could take a few of the crew intended for the first two frigates."

I pulled their files quickly, and read a few off, "Ensign Kera LiirHra, Intended for my frigates weapons crew, Technically qualified for an arrow interceptor, but no flight hours. On any craft. Send her immediately into a known combat situation?" I asked, continuing before he could respond "Lieutenant Padgur Manaan, Chief of Repairs on the Mother-ship. He's the most qualified, he actually flew in the experimental versions of the Arrow, AND the Blade. However, not only has he never been in combat, his position could sorely be needed on this ship." I held up a hand to forestall his arguments. "The rest of them are very similar in situation. We did not set out with a full crew from the start- this was supposed to be a simple Test."

He looked at me for a moment, glancing quickly through the files, before frowning. "I see..." He said slowly. "Well, under the circumstances, sir... I suppose all I can do is echo Ms S'jet's statements... Don't get yourself killed." he said, before grinning "If you died out there that wouldn't bode well for us, Eh 'Flying-Khaak-Beast'?"

I put my palm over my face. "I still don't know how that damn name started." I grumbled, "But yes.. I suppose it would." I looked at him and grinned. "Sajuuk knows you can't fly straight." I turned and walked off towards the Science Officers, mentally cherishing the look of offense on his face. As I crossed the bridge, I swore I heard Karan mumble "Wait a minute... He's the 'Flying-Khaak-Beast'... I thought he'd be older with a record like that..."

"Admiral, you called for us to be here?" a techie asked, looking a little confused. "Sir, this is the staff from the failed Blade project..." .1st Arisa Paktu stated, looking around. I grinned at her and held up the Blade project's folder. "Got it in one, Techie." She grimaced "I hate that nickname." she muttered. Ignoring her, I continued, "I looked over the files for the blade, and I think that if a few issues were sorted out, it would be a Much better candidate for our primary fighter then the Arrow class interceptor."

Arisa interrupted quickly "Sir, we worked for a year trying to flatten out all of the bugs- It just can't be done!" she said quietly, and two of the other techies nodded behind her. I smiled slightly, and shook my head, opening the file to the first page. All of the techies blinked as one, and more than one muttered "Why didn't I think of that..." to themselves. Arisa snatched the file from my hand and quickly flipped through the pages.

She looked up at me with a blank look for a moment, before flatly asking "When the hell were you a Science Officer... You're not even from one of the right Kitth, Soban... But Why in Sajuuk's name did you stop being one?" she quickly looked back down at the paper, and grinning widely. "With these revisions... We should have the fighter ready within... Well... How fast can the mothership produce one, again?" she looked over her shoulder, asking one of her compatriots. "About thirty seconds, ma'am." the techie responded, her eyes still glued to the file.

* * *

><p>15 minutes later, Mother-ship's Fighter Bay<p>

* * *

><p>I looked at the gathering of pilots before me and cleared my throat. "Alright people, Open up the briefing folders." I said, pressing a button on the display panel next to me. An image taken from about 100km directly above the mother-ship, Via probe, was displayed on the screen.<p>

"Turn to page three, There should be an image of this map." I started, grabbing a laser pointer from my pocket, and clicking it on, pointing to the center of the screen. "This little dot is us." I moved the pointer to rest on a point several inches above and to the left. "This here, is the wreckage of the Khar Selim." I pressed the same button again, and a red line appeared in between the two indicated points.

"There are seventy kilometers between us, and that wreck." I said shortly, pressing the button once more, bringing up an image of a Salvage Corvette. "Our task is to escort one of these there, and back, and ensure that it reaches the mother-ship with the black-box of the Khar Selim, so we can fully understand what happened, and asses the threat completely." I turned off the screen, and the laser pointer. "Simple enough mission. Go out, Come back, Keep everyone alive. Questions?" I looked around shortly, and nodded.

"Report to your new craft. I want to see Twelve Blade's take off, and Twelve blades come back. Is that understood?" I ordered, and received a quick round of "Yes Sir!", as well as one pilot's "Yes Sir, Flying-Khaak-Beast, Sir!" I glared at her "Good. Lieutenant Paktu, You're on my wing." her face immediately fell, I stepped forwards and spoke quietly into her ear, "Don't worry... I don't bite... Well, that's a lie." I pulled back and grinned, bearing my teeth.

I looked at the rest of the pilots, and continued loud enough for everyone to hear. "Alpha wing will consist of myself, as Alpha One, Lt. Leera Paktu as Alpha Two, Lieutenant Commander Deera Paktu as Alpha Three, and Ensign Friea LiirHra as Alpha Four." I waved the three of them over to stand by me.

"Beta One, Lieutenant Commander Taora S'jet, Beta Two, Ensign Khare Manaan, Beta Three, Lieutenant Zhadara LiirHra, Beta Four, Ensign Abriel Manaan." Beta flight gathered to my left, and all placed their helmets on, saluting, before going to ready their crafts. "That leaves Gamma one as LtCdr. Siara Manaan, Gamma Two as Ens. Jurgas LiirHra, Gamma Three as Lt. Oliara S'jet, and Gamma Four as Ens. Larduc Manaan." Gamma flight saluted and left to their crafts.

"Let's go, alpha wing, Can't let them get out before us." I quickly said, and turned to hustle towards my fighter. For a moment, the sound of boots hitting metal was all that could be heard through the hangar. The boots of the support crew, moving away small hover-pads with fuel tanks, and extra ordinance, and the boots of the pilots towards their craft.

I reached my fighter, and quickly climbed into the cockpit, sealing it shut behind me, and going through the start-up procedures. "Beta One here, Beta flight is all systems green, ready to launch." the voice of Beta One came through my helmet's comm's. "Gamma one here, All wing's green, ready for launch." Gamma one followed. Alpha two reported next,"Alpha Two, all systems green." followed by three, "Alpha Three, systems go." and finally four"Alpha Four, I'm ready, sir."

"Bridge, this is Alpha one. Group one is go. Requesting clearance to launch." I reported into my comm's. "Affirmative, the Salvage Corvette has already launched and is awaiting link-up, We will have Repair corvettes launch and await your return after you have cleared the mother-ship." was the response. Before I could ease up my throttle, the voice came through my comm's again, this time on a private channel "Good luck our there, Admiral."

Two by two, we slowly taxied to the exit point, before easing our throttles up, and launching out the side of the mother-ship. "Assemble, 150m ahead and starboard of the mother-ship, then assume delta formations." I ordered into my comm's, receiving a quick "Roger," from Beta, and Gamma One's. "Hello there, 'little friends', nice of you to join us!" called the comm's officer on board of the Salvage corvette. "Captain says we're all ready to go, as soon as you lot are in escort positions, we're off." he quickly reported.

"Roger that, assuming Escort Formation. Beta, Take the Port side, Gamma, Starboard, Alpha flight, We're on point." I eased my throttle up to 65%, and easily gained a leading position in front of the corvette, throttling back once I had a fifty meter lead. My flight kept with me, and I saw Beta and Gamma flights enter escort position. "We're away, Command, We should be returning in Fifteen minutes, Over." I reported. "Understood, Admiral. Get back safely!" came Fleet Intelligence's voice.

The flight to the Khar Selim seemed to take hours, although it really only took three minutes. "My god... It looks a whole lot worse in person." Beta Three said quietly, pausing a second, "My uncle was on there... I signed up for this to surprise him..." she whispered sadly. "We'll get them, three. We'll get 'em" Beta one said back quietly, but firmly.

"Just keep it together, Okay?" I said quickly. I looked at the large wreck in front of us and shook my head at the loss of life. "Sajuuk knows you aren't the only one who's lost family on there." I said a bit more quietly. I looked down- more to get my eyes off the wreck than for anything else- and immediately spotted several red pip's on my sensors display.

"Get ready people! Here they come!" I reported louder into my comm's. "Pair off, remember your wing-men, and I don't want to see a single damn ship lost- If you start to take fire, get the hell out of here, am I clear?" I ordered. "Beta flight, Engaging!" Beta One reported. "Gamma flight, Pull cover on the Salvage Corvette, Alpha will assist Beta." I said, and immediately pushed my throttle to the 95% mark.

"Understood, Gamma remaining on escort, Good luck you lot!" Gamma one responded, and gamma flight circled back towards the corvette, taking a defensive flight pattern between it and the raiders. I looked off towards my left, and immediately spotted an enemy fighter pair, heading at high speed towards the rear of Beta flight. "Beta flight, Get your squadron into Evasive, Now. Alpha, Cover Beta's six. Fire at will!" I ordered, rolling my fighter onto the rear of the lead fighter.

My paired mass drivers gave a rumbling report through my ship's frame, and the heavier caliber weapons provided much more satisfying results then the Arrow's- the fighter immediately started trailing flame, and a second burst caused a brilliant flash, and a new cloud of debris to litter the area.  
>"Tally One," I called over the comm's. "Damn, I wanted the first kill," quipped Alpha Two.<p>

"Gamma flight here, We're engaging light contacts, nothing we can't handle." Gamma one reported, and I quickly glanced in their direction- only a pair of Fighters was headed for them. "Copy Gamma, stay sharp." I responded, returning my view forwards just in time to catch another bright flash. "Scratch One!" Alpha three reported.

"Don't get so cocky- Still more coming!" Beta two called, and I glanced at my sensors to get a quick count- six... a flash off to my left, make that five fighters engaging us, and a seemingly endless chain of pairs incoming. "Great Sajuuk, where are they all coming from?" Alpha two asked. "Don't think- Shoot!" I responded, nosing up hard and putting a long burst into the belly of another fighter.

"Tally Two," I called, pulling off hard to the left to head for the tail of another fighter. "Got one!" Beta four called, quickly followed by Alpha three claiming another. I switched my long range comm's on, "Command- engaging HEAVY contacts, Send up those repair corvettes ASAP, I want to get a rolling retreat going once that Salvage Corvette's got the box." I quickly reported, receiving a response almost immediately "Affirmative, Alpha lead, Repair Corvettes En Route, ETA, Three minutes."

"Hah! Got Two!" Alpha two said, pulling out of a chain roll with two quick flashes going off. "Two, check your six!" Four quickly warned her. "I'm on it!" I reported, and pulled for a head on course with her. "Shit sir, lookout!" she pulled up hard, going only a meter above my craft, and clearing the way for a burst straight to the cockpit of the fighter behind her.

"Tally Three." I called, hanging a hard right, and rolling wide. A couple of large rounds whizzed by my craft, going shallow of my turn. "Could use a hand here, Got one on me." I reported, pushing the stick forwards to keep out of his line of fire. "On the way, One." Alpha Four responded. "Understood, come straight at me, I'll pull clear." I said, and angled my craft towards her, and pushing the throttle to full.

Just before collision, I pushed the stick hard, and then cut throttle completely, spinning my craft around without changing my momentum. Then I slammed the throttle back to full, and arced off at a 150 degree angle from where I had been going. "Remember, people- Momentum!" I said over the comm's, "Don't forget we AREN'T atmospheric fighters!"

"Dammit sir, you're a Genius!" Alpha Two said, and pulled of a similar maneuver, spinning 180 degrees, and placing a burst into a fighter following her. "Got another!" she called over the comm's. "Alpha Lead, Repair Corvettes have arrived, and are on station." Karan reported, and I glanced back towards the mother-ship- spotting three new small yellow dots. "Copy, Command, Beta flight, Refuel and Repair, Alpha, pull these guys towards Gamma. Salvage- How's it coming?"

I pulled a hard turn, hooking around towards a fighter headed for Beta Three's tail, and putting a burst into his engines. "Tally Four." I called, angling left, and heading for another. Suddenly a blast of steam nearly hit me in the face, and my cockpit gave off a warning alarm. "Shit, I'm hit!" I called, cutting my throttle, and reversing my heading. The fighter was already turning off my tail- obviously having witnessed the same maneuver from Alpha Two.

I gunned the throttle, and quickly pulled onto his tail- putting a burst at him, only to miss as he sharply maneuvered. "Two, Get over here, and Cover my ass!" I called, and got a quick "Roger" in response. The fighter cut a hard turn towards my left- straight up for himself, and started heading directly for Beta flight. I put another burst at him, and scored only a couple glancing hits off the side of his ship.

"Beta flight, Watch out, You've got incoming." I called. I then had to quickly pull off, and cover my eyes. "Got him!" Alpha Four called over the comm. "Shit! I've got one on me!" Alpha three called "Two- Handle it, Four, with me, We have to get to Gamma." I ordered, swinging to face the wreck, and pushing the throttle to full.

"Roger!" Four called, and she swung onto my wing, full throttle. "We've got problems here!" Gamma one called, and I couldn't help but agree- at least eight fighters were near Gamma flight. "Paid you back, Sis!" Two called over the comm's. "Copy- Rendezvous with Lead" three called, heading in our direction. I sharply rolled onto the tail of a fighter, and put a burst into his midsection- A scream came over my comm's, covered heavily by static, and sounding almost metallic. "Tally Five." I said, and swung to tail a second- finishing him in short order. "Tally Six!"

"Got another!" Alpha four called, muffled by static. "I've got damage!" Gamma three called, "Hold on, I'm on it!" Gamma one quickly responded. Gamma one passed over me at full throttle- quickly followed by a Fighter she hadn't noticed. "Got 'im!" she cried, putting rounds into the fighter's cockpit.

"Gamma one, Check six, I'm on it!" I called, Pulling a hard roll onto the fighters tail. "Alpha Four, Cover Gamma Three" I ordered, pushing my throttle to full, and putting a long burst into the fighter's top section. Once more, I heard a metallic scream through my comm. "Is anyone else picking those up?" I called, pulling hard around towards a fighter trying to tail Four. "Got one more. And yeah!" Alpha Four called back.

"Alpha Four, Spin round, you've got one on you." Three called, just arriving with Two. "Copy." she responded, turning just in time to see me put a long burst into the fighter's middle section, setting it off in a bright flash."Tally Seven!" I called quickly. "We've Got the Box, we're pulling out!" called the Salvage Corvette, "Beta lead here- All craft ready, Re-engaging!" "I Copy Beta- Gamma flight, You're up." I ordered, rolling on the tail of another fighter. "Tally Eight!"

"Lead! Break Left!" Called Two, and I immediately pulled a hard left, narrowly being missed by a pair of missiles. "Shit, they've got Corvettes here!" I warned, spotting the origin of the missile's. "Looks like you guys could use a hand!" came over the Comm, just as a bracket of explosive bursts blew chunks off of the Missile Corvette. "Sajuuk! I guess they liked the suggestion!" I called back, correctly guessing that it'd been a pair of heavy corvettes.

"Well, Explosives are always fun!" Came the voice of a techie over the comm, quickly followed by another one in the background hushing him, and saying "Shut up! They're busy out there!" I grinned, pushing the throttle up and curving around back towards the Salvage Corvette. "They're Breaking off- Do not pursue, Let's get this thing home people." I called. "Roger lead!" Beta One responded.

I grinned to myself, and reported over the long range comm's. "Group one returning, Salvage Corvette and cargo intact. Zero casualties, Over." no response was made- or at least, if there was one, it couldn't be heard over the cheers that broke out on the bridge at that announcement.

* * *

><p>AN: YAY, Response time:

dark: Would it be bad if I said that, While I liked the first A LOT more, HW-2 isn't a horrible game of it's own right? Sure, it doesn't quite live up to the expectations of HW:1, but I personally like the Vaygr... A lot. :V

DragonofGreed: Huh, hadn't thought of it that way, to be honest.


End file.
